FILMMAKER | SPEAKER | AUTHOR
Author
Touched by Hannah
Currently Being Proofread
Chris Hennessy battled life-threatening side effects after almost dying three days after radical prostatectomy cancer surgery (Aug 3, 2009). The doctor told Chris they got all of it, but subsequent blood tests soon revealed a grim reality--the cancer was still present, continuing its invasion of his body.
His daughter was due Dec 7 but entered the world prematurely on Sept 1, 2009. Hannah was classified as a micro-preemie weighing only one pound, nine ounces—with a fifty percent chance of surviving. Doctors said that if she lived, her odds of having a normal, healthy life were poor.
For months, Hannah and Chris fought for their lives. Chris would still plant himself at Hannah's incubator, staying late into most nights, long after the other parents had left.
The only physical contact with Hannah was reaching an arm into the small hole on the side of her incubator. Hannah's minuscule hand latched onto her daddy's pointer finger and held it for hours while he sang improvised songs and prayers.
“The odds were that one or both of us wouldn't make it. Tomorrow would be a frightening thought. However, when living in the moment, there wasn't a tomorrow. And when tomorrow doesn't exist, there's no stressing about it. I felt honored, blessed, and cherished every second I sat there, Touched by Hannah.”
I was fortunate to be connected to and work closely with Cecil Murphey,
an acclaimed writer (25 million books sold) who saw potential in my initial pages. His guidance and feedback over twenty months made me the writer I aspired to be.
Cec’s initial feedback, “You've hooked me on the first five pages. It's one of the best pieces I've received from a perspective protégé," validated that I was telling an extraordinary story and pushed me to work consistently hard to finish my book.
Touched by Hannah
Stories within the story!
The story's reach has been profound
The thirteen-minute documentary Miracles on College Street, which Hennessy produced to promote Touched by Hannah, captured the essence of the narrative and took the 'Film Heals' award (most inspirational) at the 2022 Manhattan Film Festival, New York City. Miracles was a top-five finalist documentary at Manhattan and runner-up, 'Best Episode West Coast,' at the 2022 ACM Western Region WAVE Cable TV Awards.
These accolades, along with the attention from media outlets--newspapers, NBC TV News, KGO-810 radio San Francisco, and thousands of social media followers, demonstrate the universal appeal of Hannah's story.
Touched by Hannah
Stories within the story!
“I think ours would make a great story,”
Chris told his wife, Betsy, in 2012, three years after Hannah's birth and his cancer surgery,
In 2013, Saved By Hannah was the name of the film Hennessy planned to write and produce. However, he soon decided to write the book first to tell their entire story. See the JPG below, which describes how the title, Touched By Hannah, originated.
"I worked hard, 100% effort times infinity—I never rushed or cut corners, and suddenly, after grinding for a couple of thousand hours, I've written a book, Touched by Hannah, and it's being proofread!
I'll write the movie screenplay when the book finds the right publisher. I have not considered titles, but it will differ from Touched By Hannah."